Author Topic: Laptop Suggestions  (Read 5999 times)

2021-05-19, 08:28:40

acrobaticpoly

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Hey guys,

I just would like to get some thoughts on any laptops you think might be a good choice for rendering on the go, or if anyone has any great experiences with any (Good temp levels, low noise etc)
I have a dedicated system at home with 128GB of RAM and a CPU capable of almost anything but I'd like a machine to use on the go - It doesn't need to handle any big jobs, just something... pretty capable I guess. I have my eye on an Alienware M15 R3 at the mo but I thought I'd see what the community has to say.

I would also like to mention that my main programs would be 3DS Max, Corona and Phoenix.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Cheers
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2021-05-19, 16:55:57
Reply #1

Vuk

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I have just seen recently the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro and the 7 Pro. They seem like a pretty sweet deal to be honest.

The price to performance ratio is great if you don't want to spend a lot of money. Obviously there are much more expensive options that are workstation-grade but I doubt you will get a lot more cpu performance (not more than 15%).  For the ram surely yes since there are options that offer 128gb but if you don't need that and if 64 is enough then this seems like the best option out there right now. Just check if they are capable of 64gb memory but I suppose they are with 2 sticks of 32.

What I liked about the new Legion was the 5800H Ryzen 8 core cpu, 16:10 aspect ratio screen that is QHD and 144hz capable (great if you want to game a bit and for productivity), screen is also 500 nits, rtx 3000 series gpu and if you can go over the gamery look of the 5 pro of course. But you always have the option of the 7 Pro that looks plainer and office alike. Bear in mind that these laptops are a tad bit heavy though :).




2021-06-09, 21:08:19
Reply #2

Juraj

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What I liked about the new Legion was the 5800H Ryzen 8 core cpu, 16:10 aspect ratio screen that is QHD and 144hz capable (great if you want to game a bit and for productivity), screen is also 500 nits, rtx 3000 series gpu and if you can go over the gamery look of the 5 pro of course. But you always have the option of the 7 Pro that looks plainer and office alike. Bear in mind that these laptops are a tad bit heavy though :).

100perc. what VUK wrote on all accounts.


The Lenovo Legions are indeed very good balance of features at great price point. Also, Lenovo is the only laptop maker with 16" 16:10 2560x1600px display right now afaik. Looks like they bought exclusivity for it ;- ). The rest only offer 15"/17" 16:9 displays with 2560px or 3840px.

But they are so damn ugly :- (. Peak gamer design unfortunately. Still, great laptops.


I personally don't mind the weight. My Razer Blade 17 pro is 2.6KG and it's just fine. That is actually perfect weight for thin mobile workstation (Dell XPS 17 has same weight with discreet nVidia GPU). Do you guys remember the 5KG + battleships just two generations ago :- ) ?

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2021-07-15, 05:51:20
Reply #3

Luke

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is there anything out there that has more than 8 Cores and can take 128Gb ram? I'm looking for a solid solution for being able to work on the road...

2021-07-15, 18:21:01
Reply #4

hurrycat

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is there anything out there that has more than 8 Cores and can take 128Gb ram? I'm looking for a solid solution for being able to work on the road...

I am pretty sure the most you can get from consumer-grade laptop CPUs is 8 cores. But there do exist some manufacturers that use Desktop CPUs in notebooks, like Origin PC.

2021-07-17, 11:32:11
Reply #5

Juraj

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Yes, the laptop with full desktop parts in OEM chassis from Taiwan makers like Clevo.

Every country has different resellers, in US it's Origin, in EU it's XMG and Schenker, etc..  there are a lot of such brands but the laptop you will get is +/- identical since they only put it together but the chassis is the same.
Here is a (not comprehensive) list of some: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clevo

It will feature full desktop 3950/5950X 16-core Ryzen CPU, but usually set to 65W ECO mode or other custom power envelope, but it's user adjustable, just like desktop, with mostly fully unlocked bios.
The only negative is they're big, ugly and plastic. But the cooling is great and performance is well... mind-boggling.

Some of them are also based on 10-core i9 Intels. You lose some multi-threaded performance, but you get Thunderbolt connectivity.
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2021-07-20, 17:08:58
Reply #6

Ekladiuos

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Guys what do you think about this:
Razer Blade 14 - GeForce RTX 3070 - Black
AMD Ryzen™ 9 5900HX
Windows 10 Home
14" 144Hz Full HD
GeForce RTX 3070
16GB RAM, 1TB SSD

It's around 2000 euros and it's very portable. i really like how the razer is.

I dunno if I can get any better within this price range.


I have my workstation home so this will be for the workflow, creating, testing the scenes, and being more mobile.

and I had Alienware area 51m i9 9900k and it's horrible, overpriced, very very heavy, and horrible ventilation.

Thank you.

« Last Edit: 2021-07-22, 22:51:18 by Ekladiuos »

2021-07-21, 18:33:14
Reply #7

Ekladiuos

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Another option ASUS strix G17

which will have AMD 5900 hx

With 3070 VGA and 32 GB DDR4 3200 rams

Which has an advantage on the razer in terms of the specs but will be heavier and uglier.

I donno
« Last Edit: 2021-07-22, 13:17:24 by Ekladiuos »

2021-07-23, 13:36:17
Reply #8

Juraj

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Don't buy the 14" Razer, or other small AMD laptops, most of them have fully soldered memory, so it can't be upgraded. Kind of suck to be stuck with 16GB of ram.
The big AMD laptops also have soldered memory, but only partly. So it's soldered 16 + XYZ, giving you maximum of 48GB of DDR4 to upgrade.

All current Intel laptops have two fully upgradeable memory slots, giving you 64GB DDR4 option, this is big plus for Intel laptops right now.

Every laptop that is not Apple Macbook, Dell XPS or Razer Blade is ugly : /. And they're mostly equally ok choice. The bigger it is the better it will cool and better render but it's not as super important on laptop since in the end they're all slow for true rendering, so it's more play around in scenes and then send them home to render.

The very latest i7 11800H Intel chips are really good, on par with 5900HX, but they came out just last week.

My Razer Blade 17 Pro is pretty "silent", but my wife's Razer Blade 15 Advanced is lot more loud due to being so much thinner. I believe most 17" are lot better suited for CGI work, and 2.7KG is imho portable. Sure, 15" 2KG is more portable but are you gonna work in Starbucks? Or just take it with you on travel and keep it place.

Alienware area 51m i9 9900k is actually quite well cooled, but 9900K is desktop chip so the it kind of negates. I don't think you will have much better experience in terms of noise and heat, you will just get lighter. More of a side-grade then upgrade. (You will go from 3.9KG to 2KG (15") or 2.7KG (17") so improvement there).

Not much advice to give, everything is such a compromise in laptops you just have to make an educated guess and live with it.
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2021-07-23, 13:45:16
Reply #9

Ekladiuos

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Juraj Thank you so much for the sum up!

What do you think about the Alienware R5 with the AMD 5900HX, 32 GB ram, and RTX 3070?

It's 15 inches quite light but I read that the cooling was not the best and in terms of performance was one of the lowest machines that have this AMD chip. 

EDIT: oh I saw now they have the model with i7 11800H and the i9 11900H which is strangely cheaper what do you think about these models? i am quite worried about the ventilation of the i( since it goes crazy hot.

Thank you
and have a nice weekend
« Last Edit: 2021-07-23, 14:12:50 by Ekladiuos »

2021-07-23, 15:05:24
Reply #10

Juraj

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i7 11800H vs Ryzen 5900HX. Incredibly similar in terms of performance, trading blows.

i7 11800H vs i9 11900H. No idea...but previously there was almost never any difference because of throttling and power/thermal limits. Sometimes the i7 was even faster :- ).

You will still have to choose some power profile since both CPU and GPU are usually at 100W in this size category, but they can't really do both at same time.
Well they will all get crazy hot I don't think there's anything to be done, the higher end models already have big vapor chambers, but in practice it's not drastic difference.

I can't advice on individual models of laptops, I usually don't follow those reviews well. I don't care as much about maximizing performance on laptop.
MSI vs Asus vs Dell/Alienware, Lenovo, they change far too often to keep up. I would choose the one you like visually since you will be seen with it in public :- ) Just kidding, but being nice device is important for me to enjoy the experience.
Please follow my new Instagram for latest projects, tips&tricks, short video tutorials and free models
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2021-07-23, 19:08:21
Reply #11

Ekladiuos

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hahaha I can totally relate to this, the aesthetics make a lot of difference for me that's why my heart was with the razer but it cannot work.

Thanks a lot anyway, always helpful!

2021-10-26, 00:28:11
Reply #12

Luke

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Does any know if you can get a Laptop with 128Gb Ram and a AMD chip or something with more than 10 cores?
I can't find one anywhere, I looked up clevo and couldn't find it anywhere?

I contacted their Australian reseller and he's pointed me to these 2:
https://www.metabox.com.au/store/Prime-X-Range/Buy - 128GB Ram but i9 (10 core cpu)

https://www.metabox.com.au/store/Prime-Ai-Range/Buy - 64GB Ram (Max) and AMD 5900x (12 cores)

I quickly went through their options and priced up this machine as i think the 128Gb Ram is essential for me...

Metabox Prime-X X170KM-G
Intel Core i9-10900KF 10-Core (20M Cache up to 5.30 GHz)
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 16GB GDDR6 VRAM with G-Sync (165W TGP)
Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut - Ultra High Performance Thermal Dissipation
17.3" UHD 4K IPS-Grade Edge-to-Edge Matte 60HZ LED - G-Sync & 100% AdobeRGB Colour Gamut
Per-Key Edge-Lit Colour Keyboard - Adjustable Colours Per-Key with N-Key Rollover
128GB DDR4 2666MHZ (4 x 32GB)
**Bonus** Metabox Performance 2TB PCIe NVME M.2 SSD
No Secondary M.2 SSD Drive - Optional Upgrade
No Tertiary M.2 SSD Drive - Optional Upgrade
No Quaternary M.2 SSD Drive
Killer 1650 AX Low Latency WIFI & Bluetooth 5.1 (up to 2.4 Gbps) with Killer Double Shot (4.9 Gbps)
No Optical Disc Drive - Optional Upgrade
Win 10 Professional 64BIT License - Installed & Ready-Out-Of-The-Box
3 Year Metabox Platinum Care Onsite Pickup Protection

what do you guys reckon?
« Last Edit: 2021-10-26, 02:04:30 by Luke »